Bees like to close up all the cracks with propolis - very sticky stuff, that is a mess in the summer and hard in the winter.

They'll glue down the lid. The inner lid is flat against the hive body, and when the bees glue it down, you can still get a hive tool in there to pry it off. The outer cover has a lip over it - maybe to keep out rain? - but without the inner cover the bees would glue down the outer cover. It would be really hard to get the outer cover off then, without near (or completely) breaking the lid to pieces. Trust me, I tried to go without the inner cover - it's a bad choice. :)

Also, it serves as a small air gap allowing ventilation out the top of the hive.

well jerry migratory outer covers dont need a intercover , the intercover is just to help you get the outercover that sit down on to the hive, migratory covers can slide off the hive from the sides. just imagine trying to pry your outercover off your hive when they have been glued down , you would destroy it to get it off. I have heard of alot of people using screen inter covers now better for ventalation i guess

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THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 YEARS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

Never be afraid to try something new. Amateurs built the ark, Professionals built the Titanic

They're there to give the bees something to propolize/burr comb/cement in place and annoy me when they split and break... I have some left, but am too cheap to get rid of them until they break. That space between the inner and outer covers also makes a great spot for really big nasty looking spiders and other creepy crawley's to hide and scare the you know what out of me when I pop the cover off. Yes, I'm a big wimp with spiders-doesn't make sense to me either. :?

I like the migratory covers much better; cheaper, easier and I see no difference in the bees or honey production with hives side by side.

LOL I like your answer beesharp! And I agree. I get those really big cockroach (flying kind!) things that we have here in the south. These things are big enough to put a collar and leash on! They freak me out every time I open the lid.

the iner cover also helps keep out the wax moths. they love hideing under the lip of the outer cover. without an iner cover, you could have a moth under the lip and when you take it off it could get into the hive without you knowing. its always good to cover the hole in the senter of the iner cover with duct tape (on both sides so the bee's dont get stuck to it)

They have some uses. Seems to be more useful in cold climates than warm ones. They are great for putting honey or feeders over a colony without disturbing it. Maybe for some ventilation issues as well. Beyond that, I'm not so sure of their benefit. I never saw one when I lived in California. Never saw a telescopic cover either. I'm thinking in most cases, they are a fairly high priced chunk of wood that someone told us we needed. Alot like queen excluders.

The other advantage with migratory covers is they sit flush with the rest of the hive. That probably doesn't concern you or me that much, but apparantly the commercial guys like their hives all neat and square without any bits sticking out so they can transport them easily. That was a long sentence :shock:.

Golfpsycho, I'm interested in different points of view with regards to queen excluders. Well they're basically designed to stop the queen creating brood in the honey supers yeah? wouldn't the natural layout of the hive mean that the brood is at the bottom/center and the honey is at the top/sides anyway, eliminating the need for the queen excluder? therefore, could using a queen excluder have a negative impact on the hive if the run out of brood space?

If you could point me to any heated conversations on the issue that would be cool . I'll tell you what i think about golf after you've replied to my post :twisted:.

People that don't TRY to play golf usually think of it as a good way to spoil a walk. People that don't practice and try to improve their game, probably ARE spoiling a good walk. bahahahahahahaha

Personally, I don't care for queen excluders. I believe in giving the bees an unlimited brood nest, and let them use as much space as they need. Occasionally, I have had queens that move up, and no matter what I did, they just won't go back down. As the season progresses, the bees start storing and curing nectar at the top, and force the queen back down. Sometimes, they store the nectar below the brood nest, the colony becomes honeybound, and they begin swarm preperations. Another problem entirely. I usually interfere as much as possible by rotating hive bodys, etc etc. If making comb honey, I prefer cut down splits as a method of increase and improved production, but it's labor intensive and timing is critical. There are so many ways to try to manage bees, and if I had a grundel of hives, I might feel differently. However, since I only have a few, i micromanage them and probably hinder their production almost as much as a honey exclud.... I mean queen excluder does!!

The real purpose of the inner cover is to prevent condensation on the cover. But, as mentioned, because of the design of the telescopic cover, you have to have the inner cover or you can't pry the cover off. :) I like to put a cover on without an inner cover for a few days once, though. That way it sticks down just a little when I put the inner cover back in and the lid isn't as likely to blow off.